Thanksgiving on the Cheap

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and the bills are pilling higher and higher. Top this with the rising heating costs that come with the approaching cold weather and the Chanukah and Christmas holidays full to the brim with their own expenses and you have a recipe for financial disaster. However, you can still have that amazing Thanksgiving celebration that your in-laws with rave about for years to come without going into debt. Of course Doc, also known as the cheapest woman alive, will give you all the pointers you need.

Grab yourself a free turkey!! That's right, I did say free!! Some locations, such as the Danbury Community Center, give away turkeys during the holidays to families living within their town. One year Danbury had so many free, unclaimed turkeys the coordinator buried them in the snow to keep them frozen!! He also borrowed freezers from local families to keep all that turkey fresh. A few of these turkeys went missing and were later found when the snow melted!! The smell was the dead give away!! Some families ended up stuck with their freeloading turkey tenants all the way into the summer months!! Laughing aside, they had so many turkeys that they were still giving them away for Easter!! Also, a few stores, such as Shaw's, will give you a free turkey after buying so many hundreds of dollars of groceries in a month or two's time. If you already purchase food from these places then why not save those receipts up and claim a free meal? I myself am never too proud to accept free food!!

Say you are too proud to claim free food, you don't like collecting receipts or you just don't feel like chasing down turkeys in the snow at the local community center. Well there is another option for a reduced price turkey. If you have ample freezer space or lots of snow banks (Sorry I had to say that!!) then you could purchase your turkey during the summer months. Let's face it, how many times, other then in a sandwich, do you eat turkey in the summer? It is way too hot to cook and you are way too busy having fun to be bothered. This leaves the turkey farmers having to reduce prices to attract buyers. If you buy in advance you can get your turkey for half of what those poor saps (mainly males) who wait till the last minute pay!! Don't worry about quality. If the turkey is well wrapped or already frozen it will keep for a good 6 months or more in the freezer without complaints. I myself buy in advance and claim free turkeys due to the fact that we have two Thanksgivings in our house. I assure you this is not because we are pigs but rather it is because of our divorce situations. We have to accommodate two separate families which doubles our Thanksgiving costs!! If you don't believe me about the radical cost difference in buying ahead then here is a parting thought on turkeys!! I once stood in line at the check out a few days before Thanksgiving watching the lady in front of me. I was shocked to see that she was paying double the cost of what I had paid for my turkey months prior!!

Now that you have your turkey it is on to the non-perishable side dishes such as stuffing mixes, pre-prepared gravies, olives, canned veggies, spices, cranberry sauce, drinks, paper cups, paper napkins, paper dishes and baking needs. For all of these items you will need to head right to Mr. G's at the Town Line Mall on the Tilton/Franklin town line. Here they have items marked so far below the so called discount stores, such as Wal-Mart, that you could feed the entire American army for under $1,000!! The funny part is that I am only slightly exaggerating!! 5 pounds of sugar sells for a mere $1.50 while other stores sell it for $2 and up. Flour sells at $1.49 a bag while places such as Wal-Mart, sell it for $2.29 per bag!! Jumbo black olives sell for .79$ at Mr. G's while they sell for $1.50 and up per can at regular stores!! I even got a box of Fruit Loops for my son the other day for .50$ at this amazing store!! Not that you will want to serve those at Thanksgiving dinner!! Either way, buy as much of the non-perishables you can here and you will have already cut your costs by almost half!!

Now for a few decorations on your way out of the Town Line Mall. The Dollar Tree, located to the right of Mr. G's, offers fun decorations and even a few frozen food items. The best part is that everything is just a dollar!! At those prices you can afford to pick up a few $1 toys to amuse the younger kids that may be visiting you. They will love the gift and will stay out of the adults hair for hours. Well worth paying a few extra bucks!! You can also pick up vinyl table clothes here. Far from tacky, these clothes will look good if decorated properly and will allow you to clean up with ease, leaving you to put your feet up after dinner!!

If you don't have a Mr. G's or a Dollar Tree then you will want to consult your Sunday Newspaper. Here you will find tons of coupons. Look for stores that are cheap and offer double coupon days. Some stores even offer triple coupon days!! If you purchase items on sale using coupons you are guaranteed to score some great deals pretty close to Mr. G's prices. I used to use coupons all the time before Mr. G's came into being in NH and VT but gave up because I can get the same deals at Mr. G's without all of the cutting and organizing which I am very bad at might I mention!! When I did use coupons I would quite often be able to get free or almost free product just by combining sales with the coupons and the double coupon savings!! Dog food is especially a good bargain with coupons. My dog used to eat for free all the time!! However, I don't think you will want to take advantage of the dog food coupons for Thanksgiving unless you really don't like your mother-in-law and want to serve her an "unusual" pate!!

Next you need all of your fresh side dishes. For fresh veggies I always stop at Shaw's. They often reduce their overabundant veggies, cheeses and meats to get them moving before they expire. They also have a section for reduced dairy products!! Over here you can find milk, juices, yogurts, dips, pre-made cookies and other varying surprises at over half off! They even had homemade style breads, cakes and other pastry items on a reduced rack at a good 50% off!! Just look closely from department to department and you will soon see the white, red and black reduction labels popping right out at you!!

Another trick for free veggies is to either grow your own or barter with a friend or relative for them. Yes, I did say barter!! When I was younger I had no money to speak of even though I worked like a dog. Therefore, food was in short supply so I figured out ways around it. My aunt was elderly and needed work done on her farm. I weeded the garden, gathered eggs and picked veggies for her in return for some of the veggies. She was happy and I was fat and happy. It all came out in the wash!! Now, I give people jelly in return for their unwanted fruits and veggies. I then preserve the items and put them up in my cupboard for the hard winter and holidays ahead. Typically a shopping bag of fruit makes 11 jars of jelly and a few gallons of sauce so giving away 1 or 2 jars of jelly to get said fruit makes very practical sense. In my own garden I keep all sorts of goodies that we eat a lot of such as apples, grapes, mint and blackberries. If you don't have your own garden, don't be afraid to ask if you see a fruit tree loaded to bear in a yard and no one around harvesting. Some people plant fruit trees only for the look not for the eating. These people are always more then willing to get rid of that pesky fruit and they are always willing to partake of a few jars of sweet and tasty jelly in return!!

Now you have everything but what to do with it to make it all look amazing with no money to spare. This is when you need to take a long walk with or without the kids. Bittersweet is a wild growing vine weed that can be found all over the North East. It has beautiful red berries surrounded by a golden yellow hull. Find some of this vine and use it to make a wreath just by twisting it into a circle and tying off the two ends. This is also great to place on your tables but be careful around little kids. The berries are poisonous. If you cannot find bittersweet then gather up multi colored tree leaves. These can be scattered across the table just prior to dinner for a kaleidoscope of color. Vases of dried flowers found in the field can be placed on counters and on the table as well. For a fun entrance decoration ask a local farmer if he has any spare corn stalks. Tie these together and prop them on either side of the front door. Most farmers will be so glad to get rid of these they may just kiss you so be careful!!

Now that you have what you need it is time to stretch it for all it is worth!! Use every last morsel of the food you have and make appetizers small and dainty. Small finger foods feed more people for less money is the rule of thumb to remember so provide a lot of small, cheap finger foods to fill people up before the expensive stuff is actually served. This will make the more expensive main course foods go farther as people will eat less of them. It is the same idea as a restaurant serving you a big, cheap salad and a little tiny entree of say fish or lobster. Use the outside shells of your cooking pumpkins to serve soup or dips and the leaves of your celery to add a bit of green to your stuffing. Use the cores and peelings from your apples when you made your pie to boil down and make fresh apple juice. Strain out the inedible parts and then serve the remaining juice warm with cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg and cloves for a fun finish to the meal. Use the orange you used for its zest to decorate your cake or add it to your cranberry sauce after chopping it up. Now you are getting multiple uses out of each and every item and thus stretching your budget even farther.

For Doc's last piece of advice, have relatives and friends bring one of their best dishes. To some this may sound rude but with a little tact you will have people begging to bring along a dish!! Think of what each person is well known for and then tell them, "Wow Aunt Ethel, I just love those Snicker doodles of yours. Do you think you could bring some along to the party tomorrow?" The recipient of this compliment will think, "Wow, they love my cookies!! I need to bring some so people can ewe and ah over them in front of me!!" Viola!! Now your friends are helping to defray the cost just a little and as we all know, even a little defraying is much needed in this economy!!

Well, that is all that Doc has up her sleeve in the way of putting together Thanksgiving on the cheap. If you have any ideas of your own or need some help then just drop me a line. I am always open to new ideas and am always willing to lend a hand or two. Have a happy and prosperous Thanksgiving full of fun, memories, love and lots of spare cash from all your thrifty shopping!!